Much like modern American politics, the authorship question isn’t worth discussing. People will believe what they want to believe, ignoring any evidence to the contrary and stretching the limits of imagination to invent “evidence” that supports their point.

This week, some new research adds to the mix, suggesting that authors during Shakespeare’s lifetime also thought it was the other guy writing the works.

Let me see if I can sum up. There’s this book that we know about by a guy named Meres. It days from 1590. It’s a book of lists. More to the point, “symmetrical” lists — 8 Greek writers, 8 Latin writers, and 8 English writers. Well, brace yourselves – some of the lists aren’t symmetrical. 6 ancient “epigrammatists” are compared to 5 modern ones. IT MUST MEAN SOMETHING, PEOPLE!

WAIT! It gets better! One of the modern names is Davies, which could be two people. So it’s technically symmetrical; see how the game is played?

So guess what — there’s a list with 17 English writers and 16 modern ones. You guessed it (or did you?) both Oxford and Shakespeare appear on the list. Therefore we make the leap — those *two* must represent *one* person, to keep it symmetrical. Boom, mic drop.

<shrug> Sure? It’s not so much “evidence” as “a curious observation.” There will forever be a difference between “this could mean something” and “this means something.” The problem, then, is that there is an infinite amount of “this could mean something.” They are all equally trivial.

“When the lists aren’t symmetrical, there’s a reason for it.” The whole thing reminds me of a great Dad joke. Have you ever seen geese flying in that V-formation like they do? Do you notice how sometimes one side of the V is longer? Do you ever wonder why that is?

There are more geese on that side.

When I heard that Sir Ian McKellen was doing Hamlet, I was cautiously optimistic. Sometimes they film these things, after all.

Then I heard it was filmed! I was elated.

But then they did this weird “one night only” thing, and only in the UK. I never heard another word about it.

Now, however, the universe might be paying me back for that head fake. Ralph Fiennes’ spent much of last year performing Macbeth with Indira Varma. Again, this show started in London. But they took it on tour! They’re currently playing Washington D.C., in case anyone is in the neighborhood.

But they filmed this one, too! AND IT’S COMING TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU! Unlike previous Shakespeare films that have come around and played in one indie theatre in Boston, this one is coming to my local theatre and playing for a week, May 2 – May 9. My daughter will be home from college that weekend so we’re planning to go on the 9th. Should we bring our books?

I don’t know anybody about Fiennes’ performance, though I did like parts of his Coriolanus. Can’t wait!

Can’t Get Enough Macbeth?

Check out my book, My Own Personal Shakespeare: Macbeth, now available on Amazon! Explore Macbeth at your own pace and on your own terms, and document your personal experience with the Scottish Play.

Did you know that the Shakespeare Geek Shop offers over 150 original, unique designs, all available in a variety of styles, sizes, and colors?

Probably not, because it’s all hosted on Amazon, and my ability to say, “Here’s a link to exactly what I want to show you on Amazon,” is nearly non-existent.

I’m Working On It!

To bridge the gap I’ ‘ve begun recreating the Shop here on the site. What does this mean? At a minimum, I’m trying to get up images of all the unique designs for people to browse through. I won’t be able to show every combination of every style and color (there are over 3500 when I do that!), but we’ve got to start somewhere. Enjoy! I hope everyone can find something they like!

These are just a few of my most popular designs, each with its own hosted page and description on the site. There are more at the main Shop page, with more added all the time.

Check It Out!

I hope everybody can find something they like at the Shop. If you want to see everything, you can click directly to Amazon and truly see literally everything that’s available.

Mr. Worldwide!

I realize that we tend to default links the US sites, and my readership is all over the world. Good news! Many products are available at Amazon’s international locations, too! Unfortunately I can’t check these links because Amazon will only show me products that ship to my address 🙁 I hope these do what I want them to! Somebody let me know!)

Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Amazon France | Amazon Italy | Amazon Spain | Amazon Japan

CAPULET merchandise is back!

When I started my store a good number of years ago, I made both MONTAGUE and CAPULET designs. I thought it would be fun to count how many of each sold and make it a battle. Maybe it would be a fun gift idea for couples.

Well, Amazon wasn’t in on that plan, and they almost immediately de-listed the CAPULET design for lack of sales. I’m not sure why MONTAGUE didn’t go as well. In those early days, I didn’t have many sales of anything. But it did, and it has grown to be one of my best sellers.

So, for Shakespeare Day 2024, I’m bringing it back! Now, we can truly have the head-to-head battle I wanted! Both designs are available in a variety of colors on t-shirts, hoodies, tanks, and V-necks.

Which Household Are YOU?

I love audiobooks. I don’t know if it’s because they allow me to listen while I do other things, or because I’m old and my eyes don’t focus like I used to. People say that listening to a book doesn’t count as reading it, but why would you want to talk to those people? They sound really fun at parties.

A few months ago, Sir Patrick Stewart’s book came out, read by the author, and it’s one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever experienced. Sometimes the author’s voice is just as important as what they have to say.

So when Dame Judi Dench’s book was announced shortly after this I quickly pre-ordered, frustrated to realize that it was released months ago in the UK but would wait for April 23 for a US release. Well, today is that day!

I was immediately disappointed to see that Dame Judi doesn’t narrate the book. That’s it, I want my money back. When she recited Sonnet 29 on the Graham Norton show, time damn near stopped. I must have played that clip two dozen times.

But wait, let’s not be hasty. I listen to the author’s introduction and quickly learn how this is going to go. This isn’t really an autobiography, like Sir Patrick’s book. It is more of a collection of interviews. Okay, that’s fine. He goes on to say that the voice will occasionally switch to Dame Judi herself (minus the too many F-bombs he had to edit :), so maybe it’ll be okay.

The first chapter, Macbeth, is literally nothing but Dench walking through the play, scene by scene, discussing in minute detail how to portray Lady Macbeth. I think I’m going to love this.